25 May 2014

Poroshenko claims Ukraine presidency amid unrest

Ukrainian confectionery tycoon Petro Poroshenko claims outright victory in the presidential election. The “chocolate king” won more 55.9 per cent of the vote in the first round, exit polls suggest.

Two polls gave Poroshenko, a billionaire businessman with long experience in government, 55.9 to 57.3 per cent, well ahead of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in second place with just over 12 percent.

If confirmed by results on Monday, there will be no need for a runoff vote on June 15.

Ukrainians, weary of six months of political turmoil, hope their new president will be able to pull their country of 45 million people back from the brink of bankruptcy, dismemberment and civil war.

In Mariupol, people talked on social media about being asked by local Russia supporters to boycott the election. The city is one of several where deadly clashes have erupted in recent weeks.

An Italian journalist was killed on Saturday near Slovyansk, another flashpoint in eastern Ukraine, the Italian foreign ministry announced on Sunday.

The man, named as Andrea Rocchelli, was killed along with a Russian citizen, the ministry said. His family is expected to formally identify and collect his body on Sunday.

‘The Chocolate King’

Voters were choosing a successor to ousted pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych in a country torn apart by Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and bloody conflict with pro-Russia factions.

The man considered a front-runner for the job was candy tycoon Petro Poroshenko, known as the “Chocolate King.”

A billionaire businessman, he is also a seasoned politician.

Besides the presidential race, candidates are also running in municipal elections in some cities. Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said he would cast his ballot in the capital, Kiev, on Sunday morning.

Seeking to disrupt the vote

Increasing violence in the east has led the authorities in Kiev to accuse Russia, which they say is backing the armed separatists, of seeking to disrupt the vote. Russia denies having direct influence over the militants, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will respect the Ukrainians’ choice.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has deployed 900 observers for the election – the largest such mission in its history. Amid the escalating tensions, claim and counterclaim have swirled.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov’s spokeswoman, Natalia Stativko, said that a claim on Avakov’s website – that the Electoral Commission’s electronic vote counting system had been destroyed – was fake. She said the website had been hacked.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said oN Saturday it was investigating 83 cases of alleged interference in the election process in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.